Nothing Can My Love Erase

In the Quiet of the Night

The concert had been pure torture for Brian. Not just for Brian. They were all worried about Billie, but they had to focus on the concert and on their audience as hard as it was. They had taken a few songs off the set list and they had skipped the encore. It wasn't ideal, but it was necessary. This wasn't an evening like any other, and things had to be changed to fit the circumstances. They hurried off the stage, not skipping their showers because that was necessary. Desperately. But they kept it short and barely dried off before they left the venue.

They had sent out whoever they could find before the show, but no one had found Billie yet. No one knew where she was and Brian was a mess. It was late, it was nearing three am and he almost stopped functioning. He had been crying on and off, so Roger had convinced him to get a bit of rest while they kept looking for her. And when he woke up again he could help them again. He had been reluctant, but his friends had made him go back to the hotel.

When Brian reached the top of the stairs, he searched his pockets for the key. He didn't want to sleep, but he had to, it was late, it was nearly the morning and there were people looking for her, he couldn't do more. He needed to function the following day, he needed a couple hours of sleep. If he could sleep at all. He'd need a sleeping pill. He knew Billie always had some, he was just going to have to look through her things to find them. Billie... Thinking of her brought back the tears. He was so worried about her. It was never good if she was in this state but now she was out there all alone and Glasgow was anything but a safe place to be, let alone as a pregnant woman alone at night.

Brian shook his head. He had to keep looking for her, he had to. If something happened to her she would never forgive herself. She was everything he had, she was his family. He forcefully wiped away the tears and turned around again, he was going to leave.

But just as he did, he saw something in the corner of his eye that made him turn back. He did a double take, looking at the door of his hotel room closely. And then he didn't hesitate another second because he knew the person sitting on the ground, curled up, leaning against the door. He knew her so well.

"Billie?!" He exclaimed and rushed over to her.

He startled her so much when he dropped to his knees in front of her, she was looking at him with wide, red eyes, tears streaming down her cheeks.

"Oh my god, what are you doing?!" He asked, torn between being happy and upset. On the one hand he was so relieved to see she was okay, on the other hand he was so angry with her for running away like that, leaving him so worried he couldn't do his job properly. "How long have you been here for? Do you have any idea what you did? I have at least twenty people out all over Glasgow looking for you!"

He was nearly shouting, and that wasn't helping the situation at all. Billie shrunk even more on her spot. She didn't say anything, she didn't even look at him. She wiped her eyes.

"I was so worried about you, Billie," Brian continued and moved closer to her before he hugged her. There was so much he wanted to say, so much he wanted to ask, but this was not the time. She didn't need a lengthy discussion, she simply needed his assurance and his love, and he was there to give that to her. His needs had to wait tonight. "I love you so much, you can't just disappear like that. Glasgow is dangerous, Billie... do you know what I would do if something happened to you?"

Billie leaned against him and closed her eyes. "I'm sorry," she said quietly. She really was. "I'm so sorry, Bri," she mumbled, losing the fight against her tears once again.

"I love you so much, Billie.. Don't ever do that to me again, please..," he told her quietly and kissed her cheek.

"Brian, I can't do this," she told him, panic rising in her voice.